tegan

Oh man, I just found out today that Drawn and Quarterly just realized the first ever English edition of Shigeru Mizuki's GeGeGe no Kitaro, as just plain Kitaro. It's an absurdly long-lived (as in, created in 1959 and still relevant) Japanese series about weird Japanese ghosts and stuff. It's basically all characters designed in that late-fifties-early-sixties era where manga characters were really super cartoony, but coupled with gorgeous realistic backgrounds. It's basically tailor-made Tegan bait. What a time to be broke,

I really don't know what to think of Dragon's Crown, but this trailer is the one that made me most uncomfortable. Not because of the artistic choices (ie: a sexually idealized woman in a sheer robe), but because of the mechanical ones (...that you can poke with your finger to make moan). http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ex133LSR6xE

Amazing episode this week. I kept wanting to yell at you guys for like a quarter of it though. "No! It's Dyson! Miles Dyson!" "No, Danny's his son! It's Miles! Miles!" "Terminator 4 came out like two years ago you guys!" Side note: "Miles Dyson Punches Out" in the list of games discussed is probably the single best joke on the site.

spoiler: Fez 2 is an ARG, and we are all in it now.

...So did anyone get it yet?

He tries so hard. (it's the full minute of slowly turning the controller over in his hands while he tries to think of something clever to say that makes it for me) Oh by the way, I don't know about anyone else, but I exclusively read one thread per year on Neogaf. I have no intention of making an account.

Really? Because I remember really hating how they switched out the really interesting mimic angle for a generic dumb-looking plant monster. I also dislike on principle that the guy who wants to learn about and attempt to communicate with the Thing is made to be the clear-cut villain. Maybe I'll have to watch it again. Also, for better 50's sci-fi I recommend The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954), The Fly (1958), Forbidden Planet (1956), and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).

Here's an old favourite:

Ugh, I know. Even worse since Plinkett is supposed to be a parody of the types of whiny creepy guys who review things on the internet. Incidentally, every time I hear the name of a video reviewer that goes like "irate gamer" or "cynical gamer" or whatever, I immediately think of this guy:

What bothers me most about the existence of AVGN is that absolutely nobody who's inspired by it realizes that James Rolfe is playing a character whose entire point is that he's unlikably pedantic, crude, and unimaginative and instead take it at complete face value.

I watched both the 1982 movie and the 2011 movie both entitled The Thing! This post will contain spoilers for both movies. The 1982 movie I've seen lots of times; no big surprises there. It's probably my second-favourite horror film after Alien and I'll always admire the effects work, acting, music, etc. My favourite scene is still when they find the partially-transformed Thing in the snow, where it looks human except it can't speak yet and has weird fucked up hands. It so clearly indicates exactly why the Thing is a threat and what its limitations are. Watching it this time I realized that somebody somewhere made the effort to operate a puppet that was on fire, and that ain't not bad. The 2011 movie is weird. I hesitate to call it a bad movie. It's just kind of mediocre and forgettable. While it clearly tries to do its own thing to set it apart, it is by necessity slavishly loyal to the John Carpenter film. On top of finally questions like "how did that axe get in that door" (spoiler: a dude fucking axes a thing), sometimes you even get to see weird parallel versions of scenes from the 1982 movie. eg: they devise an alternate (and kind of flawed) equivalent to Jake Rodkin's favourite blood test scene. The acting is decent enough (especially on the part of the lead, who is distinguishable from the rest of the cast by virtue of being a woman), though we never really get much of a picture of who each character is besides a set of interchangeable bearded men like it was the fucking Hobbit (though I remember originally feeling the same way about the 1982 Thing, so maybe it'll improve on repeat viewings). There's a few things that bug me though. The 2011 Thing is often too fast and aggressive and conversational. In the Carpenter movie, the only time the Thing ever carries on a real conversation is when Wilford Brimley wants to be let back into the camp, and it's deliberately a very unconvincing and cyclical argument. It also almost exclusively acts defensively. It doesn't reveal itself unless absolutely necessary and it keeps a low profile. It doesn't build a weapon, but an escape vehicle. There's a really great short story based on the idea that the Thing is nonagressive and just a scared creature trying to survive, which is how I've always the film. In the 2011 version, it almost immediately uses conversation to lure Ramona Flowers into a room so that it can attack and consume her. It's uncharacteristic and inconsistent. The CG doesn't help matters; the new Thing has that serviceable but boring Cloverfield/Super 8/King Kong etc. weightless mass of slimy fish flesh look, and the speed that it moves and transforms at now make it seem more like one of those terrible Perfect Killing Machine movie monsters than like something desperately trying to adapt to the situation. Also, all of the stupid spaceship spectacle stuff with the unnecessary opening car crash and the stupid spaceship interior bits with the totally bland designs can fuck right off. 2 1/2 stars out of 4; would pick up for five dollars out of a discount Blu-Ray bin As a side note, I have seen the first adaptation of "Who Goes There," 1951's "The Thing From Another World." It's pretty crummy and not recommended.

thus crushing my dream of "Star Wars Episode VII: The Rise of Darth Fett"

It's to keep you from cutting off routes and blocking access to things.

So I've been thinking about this and although I really hate to have to do this again, I'm about to run out of money and food in the next week or so and all of the income options I'm trying to get (namely long-term disability and employment insurance) aren't going to deliver until after then. I tried to hold off for as long as I could, but it looks like I'm not gonna' make it. If anyone wants to help me out with a few dollars, my paypal once again is teganrobichaud at gmail dot com. It still looks like it's attached to the name of the relative who set it up, but whatever. I would be forever grateful. Worst: I'm most bummed that I can't get Pikmin 3 or Attack of the Friday Monsters. What the hell does my brain do to organize my priorities?

I built a stonehenge close to a bridge, then demolished the bridge so I could rebuild it one space away from the stonehenge for aesthetic purposes, and now Isabelle won't let me rebuild the bridge anywhere in the area. So I have to demolish the stonehenge, build the bridge, and then build the stonehenge again. Also, I still haven't seen Gracie either. I got TIY this morning, though! They sell albums!

I feel kind of mostly bad for him, but all that "i take the money and i run" makes me think of is fucking Kangaroo Jack.

I'm 16 short now and I don't think I'll ever get them. *falls over dead*

I've only got like 15 so far.

Oh man, that's rad. I love seeing handmade interpretations of sprites. I really wish I could have donated to SGDQ this year. The E.V.O. stained glass Gaia was sweet too. I did a Pac-Man CE DX thing today, for no reason.

I absolutely did not sleep at all last night. I just tossed and turned for five hours or so and then got back up. Also, I'm down to like $20 and still don't know when (or if) I'll start getting long-term benefits.

"Say hello to your new partner, Security Tubbs."

"Can you help me find the horsebag section?"

Steve "Early Child Development" Vanaman.